APEC turns Vietnam into world’s center of attention: President

The success of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week 2017 in the central coastal city of Da Nang from November 6-11 has turned Vietnam into a centre of the world’s attention, according to President Tran Dai Quang.

This is an outstanding external achievement of Vietnam this year, which contributes to increasing the role of APEC as a leading regional economic cooperation mechanism in a rapidly changing world, as well as marking a new milestone in Vietnam’s implementation of external policies of multilateralism and international integration to foster peace, cooperation and development and increase the country’s position in the global arena, he wrote in an article.

Presiden Tran Dai Quang. (Photo: Nguyen Hong)

Such achievements gained in APEC Year 2017 will create momentum for Vietnam to accomplish major tasks in the years to come, including candidacy for a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council for 2020-2021 and Chair of ASEAN in 2020, he said.

“It could be said that the recent APEC Economic Leaders’ Week has turned Vietnam into a centre of attention of the world,” he wrote, adding that all leaders of APEC member economies such as the US, China, Russia and Japan gathered at the event in Da Nang along with more than 11,000 delegates, businesspeople, and reporters.

Nearly 100 bilateral meetings between APEC leaders took place on this occasion, demonstrating the increasing position of the Asian-Pacific region in the global political-economic map as well as the strong commitments of member economies to APEC cooperation, he noted.

It also affirms the position of Vietnam in the region and the special attention of other APEC member economies and leaders to the Southeast Asian country, he said.

A record number of more than 4,000 businesses participating in the events illustrated the entrepreneurial spirit of APEC and affirmed the forum is for people and enterprises, which opens up new prospects for investment, trade and business growth in Vietnam and Asia-Pacific, he added.

With the adoption of eight documents at the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week 2017, including the Da Nang Declaration “Creating New Dynamism, Fostering a Shared Future”, Vietnam once again made a milestone in APEC cooperation, the President stressed.

The week made significant contributions to deepening relations between member economies and Vietnam with historical bilateral meetings, including the first State-level visit to Vietnam by General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and President Xi Jinping after the 19th Congress of the CPC, and the first State visit to Vietnam by US President Donald Trump.

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet Jeria also paid a State visit to Vietnam while Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made an official visit to Vietnam. During the week, Vietnamese leaders had nearly 50 bilateral meetings with partners.

This is the second time Vietnam has played the host to the APEC year and fulfilled all set targets. The APEC Economic Leaders’ Week also brought benefits to the country’s socio-economic development with a total of 121 signed cooperation agreements and contracts worth nearly US$20 billion, 10 times more than in 2006 – the first time Vietnam hosted the forum. This is also an occasion for Vietnam to introduce to international friends a country with a dynamic economy and hospitable people.

Following the success of APEC Year 2017, Vietnam will continue accompanying other APEC member economies to implement reached commitments in the coming years to build the APEC Vision toward 2020 so that Asia-Pacific will continue to be a driver of growth and economic connectivity for the globe as well as ensure the forum is for people and businesses in order to realise the strategic vision of a sustainable and inclusive Asia-Pacific partnership, the President concluded.